Most PH customs districts off their August collection targets

Out of 18 collection ports of the Philippine Bureau of Customs (BOC), only eight hit their respective targets in August, with Surigao posting the highest collection surplus at a staggering 4,561.9%.

BOC had total collections of P22.22 billion in August, 21% off its mark of P28.13 billion. Compared to August 2011, however, the latest revenues inched up 0.3% from P22.15 billion year-on-year.

The agency’s five biggest collection ports also failed to meet their targets in August, with four of five falling short of their goal by at least 20%.

The Port of Batangas posted the biggest collection shortfall of 29.3%, taking in P4.226 billion compared to its target of P5.974 billion. For the eight-month period, Batangas’s revenue was 12.7% below its target of P48.147 billion.

The Port of Manila registered the second highest shortfall with revenues of P4.415 billion, 27.2% short of the P6.066-billion mark. This district also posted a 21.9% deficit in its eight-month collection to P38.297 billion against the target of P48.891 billion.

The oil port of Limay took in P2.355 billion vis-à-vis the goal of P3.035 billion or a deficit of 22.4%. The port, however, surpassed its eight-month target by 1.6% to P24.860 billion.

The Manila International Container Port, the country’s biggest collection district, saw a collection deficit of 20.1% to P6.107 billion. For January to August, it posted an even bigger shortfall of 21.9% to P48.163 billion versus its P61.642-billion target.

Among the five biggest BOC revenue districts, Ninoy Aquino International Airport, through which most of the country’s high-value goods pass, registered the least collection deficit (16.8%) to P1.829 billion. The district also posted a similar collection shortfall percentage for the eight-month period to P14.726 billion.

Ports that also fell short of their August targets were San Fernando, Legazpi, Tacloban, Zamboanga and the Office of the Commissioner, the latter tasked to collect the tax expenditure fund from government imports.

Districts that surpassed their targets included Iloilo, Cebu, Cagayan de Oro, Davao, Subic, Clark and Aparri.

From January to August, districts that posted a collection surplus included Limay, Clark, Davao, Cagayan de Oro and Surigao.